Up until now I had spent most of my time in the southern part of Okinawa but today I was going up north. I had heard about the Ocean Expo Park that was on a peninsula just above Nago. Its main attraction is the Churaumi Aquarium but there are several other attractions of which the traditional Okinawan village attracted my attention. It would be quite a long ride but i figured that if I started early i could easily make it in time and maybe even had some time left for a nearby waterfall. There was a highway bus line that had a stop near Furuja station on the Yui monorail line. It took me a while to find it but was pleasantly surprised to see that the bus would arrive in about ten minutes. I was sweating heavily already and was happy with the idea of sitting in a nice airconditioned bus for a couple of hours. The bus was right on time but only one passenger was allowed to board because the bus was full. He shut the doors of the bus and drove off. There i was, knowing that the next bus would only arrive in about two hours and the risk of it also being full i went back on the monorail to go to the starting point of the bus line, Naha airport. I grabbed some food on the way and i arrived at the airport with time to spare. Eventually the bus came and i had to hurry a little bit to get the correct change before entering the bus. I got in and the airconditioning was on at full power. So cold and so good. I found a seat and slept for most of the ride. I woke up just a couple of minutes before we reached the expo and after getting of the bus, looked for a konbini to get some lunch. I walked back to the expo and quickly found the aquarium. This one is famous for having one of the largest fish tanks in the world, with a really big glass pane so you can see the entire aquarium in one beautiful view. Unfortunately upon entering I saw so many people entering the aquarium and inside it was hard to get a nice spot to view the different basins. There were just so many people crammed together that quietly enjoying the aquarium was not possible. The aquarium itself is setup nicely with nice explanations of the various fish and marine creatures. The big tank is really a spectacular sight and the schools of fish are exceptionally beautiful to watch. I did have some mixed feelings about some of the bigger fish, mainly the whale sharks. Yes they are beautiful creatures to watch but they are a migrating species that travel thousands of kilometers every year. I am no expert but i am not sure if a tank in an aquarium, however big it is, would be a good substitution. On the other hand the animals seem to be taken care of and the folks of the aquarium study their behaviour to help understand and treat them in the wild.
I had enough of all the crowds and went outside past the tanks with manatees and turtles to go and find the Okinawan village. I was only a short walk but the crowds were completely gone so i had a great view of the village itself. Each building had nice information about it's history and the style of building. It was a very pleasant sight after the aquarium. It had gotten past 4pm and i realized i wouldn't be able to make it to the waterfall anymore so i got back on the bus and took another nice cold nap. The last bit of the ride i noticed how deadlocked this city is. Traffic jams are truly everywhere and this road was no exception. It took us a good half an hour longer to get back to the monorail station but from there everything went smooth. I figured it was time for a quick shower and to see if Jack was back from the north as well so we could go out for some food and drinks. He texted me he was back in Naha and that he would soon be back at the hostel. Meanwhile i had taken a shower and got some beers from the Union supermarket. (even this smaller supermarket has it's own repeating commercial blasting through the speakers.) Jack arrived and we went out to an Izakaya that was recommended by the staff. An Izakaya is both a restaurant and a bar and it usually holds no more than ten people at the same time. Not that there is a door policy, more people just don't fit in. This one, named Ryuen, was renowned for it's Soki Soba, a noodle dish with spare ribs instead of pork belly. Very different but not less yummy! Of course washed down with a couple of Orion beers and it made for a great time and meal.
We got some more beers on the way back to the hostel. When we got there it was way after closing time of the hostel so we went straight to our dormitory and to bed.Read more